


Free Play

by aquabluejay, cestlavieminako



Category: Kamen Rider Ex-Aid
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Tokusatsu - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-10-11 03:49:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10454325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aquabluejay/pseuds/aquabluejay, https://archiveofourown.org/users/cestlavieminako/pseuds/cestlavieminako
Summary: A single decision of Parad's sends him down a path different than the one he'd envisioned. One free of Dan Kuroto...but at what cost?





	1. Murder And Other Games

**Author's Note:**

> This AU diverges from canon around episode 18 of Ex-Aid. The only thing that hasn't happened yet in this timeline is Emu finding out that he has the game virus. So honestly, a lot of canon is being ignored and swept aside to focus on Parad for this series (but if you're reading this, you must like Parad, so it's fine! Right? Of course!).

It had been hours, but Genm’s words still echoed in his head.

_You are just a pawn to further my ambitions!_

Parad frowned, his hand closing around his handheld game system.

If he was honest with himself, being allied with Dan Kuroto—Genm—was no longer thrilling. Before, it had been so entertaining to watch his ally play both sides. The president of Genm corporation pretending to help the CR doctors, while also secretly being the dark rider they were constantly fighting.

But once Genm had revealed his hand, and he and Parad had retreated to their new hideout, the man had … changed. He’d become a man obsessed.

Parad hadn’t minded so much initially. He was more than happy to help Genm collect data. Kamen Rider Chronicle fascinated him. If it was truly as amazing a game as Genm had described, then Parad wanted nothing more than to play it. Perhaps when it was finished he could go up against M in it, and finally have the match against him that he so craved.

But then Genm had claimed that _he_ , instead, would be the one to defeat Ex-Aid. That all of the Bugsters, Parad himself included, were mere pawns, stepping stones in his plans. Those words had settled like bile inside Parad, eating away at him. He had watched Genm dismiss Motors, while leaning against a pillar across the plaza. Even worse, Genm had dared to try to kill M! Seeing him standing with a blade to M’s neck had turned the acid to fire coursing through Parad’s body. How dare he. How **dare** he? His hip still ached faintly from where it had collided with the desk earlier when Genm had shoved him away, and the dull pain only served to fuel the fire inside of him.

Attacking Genm had been an impulse, but breaking their partnership hadn’t been. He’d had plenty of time to think all day. He’d made the decision to leave when Genm killed Motors.

Parad had only come back to Genm’s hideout to retrieve his handheld. It was true, he didn’t _need_ it—he’d beaten all of the games many times over—but it was **his**. Genm had presented it to Parad long ago, to amuse himself while Genm had worked on the intricate arrangements of his plans. How many warning signs had he overlooked while his attention was focused on the distractions that Genm had offered him?

He tucked the miniature console into his jacket, then turned to leave.

And found himself face to face with Dan Kuroto.

Parad frowned. He hadn’t intended to meet with Genm again so soon, but this was the former CEO’s lair after all. Ah well…he was caught, then. He had made his decision. He didn’t intend to stay and try to mend things with Genm.

So what was this nervous feeling?

Genm’s gaze was dangerous, and riveted on Parad with such intensity, it was as though he were attempting to bore a hole right through him. Something fluttered suddenly in Parad’s stomach, something that felt suspiciously like panic.

Genm stared for several oddly long moments before he finally growled, “What do you think you’re doing here?”

Parad forced an imitation of his usual smile onto his lips, even though every part of him was screaming to leave. Something was not right, he should just teleport himself away. But Parad wasn’t made to be cautious; a little risk was what made things fun, wasn’t it?

“Just looking for my handheld. I was feeling a bit bored, since it’s taking you so long to complete Kamen Rider Chronicle.”

“Then how about I entertain you for a bit?”

Parad blinked, but before he could react, their surroundings shifted and changed. Had Genm initiated a Stage Select? His hand went into his jacket, fingers closing tightly around his Gashat.

“You’re no longer necessary, Parad. You’re just a loose end that needs clipping, sooner rather than later, I suppose” Genm purred, the Dangerous Zombie Gashat suddenly in his hand.

Parad pulled his Gashat out, twisting it to Knockout Fighter immediately. “Henshin.”

He couldn’t afford for Genm to get the drop on him. He could see in his eyes that he was being deadly serious. If Parad hesitated even for a moment, it would cost him everything. And he wasn’t ready to be erased just yet. He hadn’t had his match with M yet.

Parad had done well in his fight with Genm before, but he’d had the element of surprise on his side. And even if he didn’t have much experience fighting against it, Dan had designed both Knockout Fighter and Perfect Puzzle.

With that in mind, and knowing about Dangerous Zombie’s troublesome powers, Parad knew he couldn’t afford to let Genm get the upper hand.

The instant Genm’s transformation was complete, he was on him, the Gashacon Sparrow in his hand. Parad managed to get a few hits in, but Genm landed many more. He fought more viciously than Parad had ever seen, Genm’s rage breaking through his usual cool exterior.

As they traded blows, it became clear that this was no mere skirmish. Very probably one of them would not be walking away from the fight, and Genm was out for blood.

This needed to end, and it needed to be fast, Parad realized, readying his finishing attack. Seemingly reading Parad’s intent, Genm moved to prepare his finishing attack at the same time.

Genm’s horde of undead silhouettes spread across the ground, and Parad gritted his teeth. He could break through all of them and land his attack on Genm. He’d **have** to.

He drew his fist back, running forward and darting around the cluster of undead. His eyes were locked on Genm’s, how he simply stood there, waiting, undoubtedly smirking beneath his helmet. Parad wanted nothing more than to wipe that smile off his face!

Something wrapped around Parad’s ankle, halting him abruptly. He stumbled and fell to the ground with a startled shout. A glance back revealed one of the shadowy undead figure’s hands closed tightly around his leg. In an instant, the mass of creatures were on him, engulfing him as they began to glow.

This was bad…if he didn’t get out right now..!

But it was too late; the figures had a hold of him. Their glow grew brighter and brighter, even as Parad struggled to escape. Critical Dead reached critical mass and the explosion surrounded him, blinding him.

Then Parad found himself flying backward. Everything was so loud…was his helmet cracked?

All thoughts were wiped from his mind as he hit the ground, his henshin coming undone, and his Gashat clattering to the ground. He struggled to move, to get up…he had to move, or he was as good as dead!

His fingers closed around his Gashat, and he froze when he noticed his hand pixelating. He blinked, trying to dispel the lingering spots in his vision from the explosion.

This was worse than he’d thought. He’d been damaged _this_ badly by a single finisher? Even while in a Level 50 henshin? Dangerous Zombie was only a level 10 Gashat, but somehow its power seemed to have grown, surpassing that level…but how was that even possible?

Something pierced Parad’s back, and he screamed in pain, trying in vain to roll away. Genm… he had…!

Parad abruptly felt himself grabbed by the collar of his coat. Genm’s still-suited hand wound itself in the straps, securing its hold, and then lifted him roughly to his knees.

Parad screamed again as Genm reached around him and yanked the Gashacon Sparrow free from his back. He gasped, hands going to his chest, finding themselves covered in fresh blood as it seeped through his shirt.

Oh…it had gone all the way through, Parad absently realized through the haze of excruciating pain.

Parad looked up at Genm. The Gashacon Sparrow was back in Genm’s right hand, and he brought it up against the side of Parad’s neck. He could probably take Parad’s head right off like that.

_Oh_.

“Goodbye, Parad.”

There were only seconds left to act, Parad realized. He couldn’t dodge an attack at this range, but…

His fingers closed around the Dangerous Zombie Gashat, wrenching it from Genm’s Driver and feeling it slip from his fingers.

The Stage Select dropped, returning them to the darkened hideout, and Parad used the last of his strength to teleport away into the city.

Dan Kuroto’s eyes were still fixed on the space that Parad had occupied until just moments ago, and he growled softly, before a smirk tugged up the corners of his lips as he bent to retrieve his Gashat.

“Run, then, like a dying animal. It’s futile…You’ll die soon enough. That's your punishment for defying me.”

~

Emu held his umbrella closer as he hurried through the downpour.

Why did the coffeemaker in CR have to pick today, of all days, to stop working? And why was _he_ the one who had been chosen to go get a replacement? He never even drank coffee, yet the director had practically pushed him out the door with some money and a cheery “We’re counting on you Emu!”

He stepped in a particularly deep puddle, yelping as the water splashed over his shoe and soaked into his sock. He hopped around awkwardly, trying to…what _was_ he even doing at this point? He just needed to hurry up and get to the store so this errand would be finished, and he could change into some dry socks.

“Ah, geez…!” Emu grumbled, before continuing on his way. Did he have spare socks in his locker? Maybe he should get some at the store just in case…

Just then, he paused. Had he seen something by that building? A car had just driven by with its headlights on because of the rain. Maybe they had just thrown a strange shadow. It was still raining, he should hurry along…

But he could have sworn he’d seen something.

Emu hesitated for a moment more, before backtracking to investigate. What if it was a Bugster or something? Or worse, Genm. He kept an eye on his surroundings and a hand in his pocket, ready to transform at a moment’s notice.

He peered around the corner of the building, frowning when he didn’t see anything. Strange, he thought, he could have sworn something had been there.

Emu turned away, preparing to go back to his coffee maker mission. Another car drove up the street and on a hunch, Emu turned back around. The beam of the headlights briefly glared off wet surfaces and into the shadows between buildings.

There _was_ something there. Next to the garbage cans…was that a foot?

Emu swallowed hard, hoping that whoever the foot belonged to was still alive. He hurried over, and sure enough, someone was slumped over in the shadows, leaning against the building.

Heedless of the wet pavement, Emu kneeled beside them.

“Hello? Can you hear me?” Emu asked, reaching out to feel for a pulse. As he took hold of the person’s wrist, he noticed something.

Were those pixels..? On their skin?

Emu drew back slightly, taking a better look at them. He noticed more and more of the strange patches on the person’s body, like a corrupted digital file playing back. Was it another case of game syndrome? What were they doing here?

And then he recognized the distinctive sleeves and pants, darkened and plastered against the person’s limbs by the rain.

“Parad?”

There was still no response. Those strange patches on his skin continued to shift and flicker. Some of them almost looking like they were… bleeding pixels around the edges? He was drenched…how long had he been lying there?

He was so still... Emu took his wrist again and checked his pulse. It was faint and thready, his respirations barely detectable. His skin was cold and deathly pale under Emu’s fingers.

With a jolt of horror, Emu realized the rain wasn’t the only thing soaking Parad’s clothes. His shirt, which Emu vaguely recalled being blue before, was dark with blood. There was so much blood that Emu couldn’t easily locate the source of it, but clearly Parad was hurt, and badly.

The only person he could think of that would do such a thing was Dan Kuroto. But why? Hadn’t they been working together?

And then Emu recalled how Parad saved him. It had all happened so quickly. Parad had attacked Dan...

There was too much Emu didn’t know. Too much to unravel, too many questions to ask. And there was no doubt in Emu's mind that if he didn't do something quickly, Parad wouldn’t be around to answer any of them.

Emu didn’t know much about Bugsters, but if he had to guess, this one was very close to death.

Suddenly, and powerfully, Emu was struck by the memory of kneeling beside someone else in the rain. Remembering the smell of their blood as it washed away. He remembered Kiriya’s last words, Kiriya's hands brushing his as he gave him his game driver. Kiriya in pain. Kiriya fizzling and distorting. Kiriya’s hands falling away. Kiriya disintegrating right in front of him…

Emu inhaled sharply, fingers tightening around the handle of his umbrella.

He couldn’t let another person die because of Dan Kuroto. For whatever reason…even if they were enemies…he was a doctor!

With that decision made, he withdrew his cell phone and placed an emergency call to the hospital. “I need an ambulance to transport a Game Syndrome patient to CR immediately.”

 

* * *

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emu brings Parad back to CR, and focuses on trying to keep the Bugster alive.

“Emu’s bringing in a Game Syndrome patient?”

Poppy nodded. “He should be here soon…he saw them when he was on his way to the store.”

Hiiro sighed softly. “I suppose we’ll be without a coffeemaker for a bit longer, now.”

“Hiiro! That’s awful!” Poppy huffed.

Any further argument was cut off as they saw Emu wheeling a gurney into the quarantine room, and Poppy all but pressed her nose up against the small window. “Poor thing…it looks like they were caught out in the rain!”

Hiiro peered past her, then froze momentarily, before rushing down the stairs and into the quarantine room. “What are you playing at, intern!? ”

Emu paused for just a second at Hiiro’s outraged tone, before going back to his patient. “He’s been badly injured.”

“Good. That would mean one less enemy for us to worry about removing.”

Emu’s horrified gaze shot up from Parad’s still form. “Hiiro! Even if he’s an enemy…we’re doctors!”

“He’s not even human! He’s a Bugster!” Hiiro shot back.

“Poppy is a Bugster, Hiiro! Yet we all trust her!” Emu shouted.

Poppy, who had been on her way into the room, paused in surprise. “Emu…”

“She’s different. She hasn’t tried to kill us before,” Hiiro pointed out.

Emu looked like he wanted to argue, before he noticed Poppy in the room, and beckoned her over. “I don’t know how to treat these…pixelations. Poppy, do you have any idea what to do?” 

Poppy hesitated, looking between the two doctors. Hiiro looked so disapproving of everything, but Emu…he looked so worried, yet determined at the same time. She went to stand beside Emu, taking a closer look at the patient. 

Hiiro huffed, then turned and left the room. If those two wanted to waste time making a terrible mistake, they were welcome to. He, on the other hand, would wait for a _real_ patient to come in…or at least be on standby to battle Parad when the inevitable happened.

“The pixels… oh no! He’s losing cohesion… this is bad Emu. Really bad! Pipapotentially fatal for a Bugster!”

“What can we do?”

Poppy changed abruptly into Asuna before answering. “There’s so much blood here Emu… I’m not sure we should transfuse a Bugster, but setting him up with a saline drip couldn’t hurt. For the pixelating…” Asuna trailed off, putting a hand under her chin, taking a moment to consider further while Emu ran to grab an IV kit.

Emu returned a few moments later and he and Asuna got to work setting up the IV and monitors. They’d only just gotten everything in place when the pulse monitor started screeching a warning. Parad was flatlining. 

Emu sprang into action immediately. “Asuna-san, grab the paddles, I’m starting compressions!” 

Emu worried about Parad’s chest wound, terribly close to where he needed to put his hands for CPR. He hadn’t had a chance to properly examine it yet and he didn't want to cause more damage. But nothing would matter if he didn't get the patient's heart beating again, quickly. He placed his hands carefully and began CPR while Asuna hurried to prep the defibrillator. There was still no sign of heartbeat or respiration by the time she had it ready, so Emu took the paddles from her.

“Clear!”

Parad’s body jerked on the gurney. Emu re-checked for a pulse and was relieved to find it returned and Parad breathing on his own again.

Something else caught Emu's eye as he checked Parad's breathing. The areas of flickering orange pixelation were shrinking, leaving behind flesh, fabric, and more tangible wounds. Emu called Asuna over to look at them, as he breathed a sigh of relief. His patient was stable for the moment. Breathing, heart beating, and not fading away.

“It must be the electrical current! Bugsters have their own energy levels. Normally it's not an issue to absorb or generate enough but it can be drained. If it ran low enough… who knows what might happen,” Asuna suggested, trailing off thoughtfully. 

Carefully monitoring the reduction of the pixilation, Emu noted worriedly that the progress was slowing, leaving several areas still flickering and incomplete. If it was the current that had helped, perhaps more would help, Emu mused. However, he hesitated to use the defibrillator again. The device was designed for emergency use only. The level of charge could potentially cause damage a body, especially the fragile state of a heart which had so recently been in arrest. There had to be another, gentler way to give the Bugster a charge.

“Charge…?” Emu muttered to himself thoughtfully, as an idea began to take shape. He was training to be a doctor, not a technician. But as a video game enthusiast he’d certainly fiddled with some things over the years, especially retro gaming equipment. Parad wasn’t a controller with a loose rumble pack, but maybe…

Emu hurried up to the office, rummaging around until he found a cell phone charger left plugged into one of the outlets. It wasn't his; in fact, he was fairly certain it was Hiiro's, but it was an emergency, so he grabbed it along with a few things from one of the supply carts. He returned to the quarantine room quickly, sitting at the desk in the room, before getting to work. 

He clipped off the end of the charger and stripped the ends of the wires inside. Under normal circumstances, Emu would never have fooled around with an electrical device in such a careless way, especially not with a patient involved. But the circumstances were far from ordinary, so he was resolved to do his best to help the patient he had.

There was a standard power outlet close to the bed, so Emu plugged the intact end of the charger into it, and after only a moment of hesitation, taped the exposed wires against Parad’s forearm a few inches above the IV that they’d set up earlier. He cast a hopeful glance at Parad, as if his quick thinking would instantly cure him, but Emu knew better. Like any other method of treatment, it would need time. And it seemed they would have plenty of it, waiting to see if their haphazard attempts would be enough to save him. 

He monitored it closely for a few minutes through the clear tape. There was no sign of a burn forming or any other negative effects. The pixelating areas seemed to be gradually improving again, so Emu resolved to leave the device in place. At the rate it was going, he estimated that the artifacting would probably fade entirely within a couple of hours.

Asuna returned shortly, arms full of towels and clean pajama scrubs for the patient. “It’s working!” she exclaimed excitedly, checking Emu’s work and doing a little fist pump as soon as her hands were free.

Emu made a small sound of affirmation, smiling at Asuna’s enthusiastic response, before he sobered. “We should at least try to clean him up a bit now. His clothes are still drenched, and that shirt…”

He trailed off, still feeling a bit sick when he looked too closely at Parad’s shirt, which was stained beyond recovery with the Bugster’s own blood.

They wasted no time in cutting Parad’s rain-drenched clothing off. The boots and the pixel-pattern pants were set aside on a chair, and Emu carefully patted the Bugsters legs dry, taking note of what looked like an oddly shaped wound on his ankle. It looked like some kind of burn and would likely need to be iced, at the very least. Emu made a mental note of that, adding it to the laundry list of things that needed attention, as he shook out a fresh towel to lay across Parad’s waist. Emu didn’t know if Bugsters were as particular about nudity as humans, but protecting a patient’s modesty as much as possible was part of good patient care. It was then that he noticed an unusual bruise stretching across Parad’s left hip. It formed a distinctly line, like a straight edge across Parad’s skin. Try as he might, Emu couldn’t recall a situation in a recent fight against Parad where that would have happened. _Had_ it been from a battle? Parad didn’t seem like the type who would bump into furniture…especially since he was so tall, and the angle of the bruise…for some reason, it unsettled him.

Asuna busied herself with preparing bandages for Parad’s wounds, which gave Emu a moment to work the pants up Parad’s legs. The scrubs were made of thin material, but surely they’d be more welcome than his rain-soaked clothing.

“Here…I’ll get him into a sitting position. Asuna-san, can you remove his coat?” Emu asked. As she nodded, he slid his hands beneath Parad’s arms, carefully lifting him up enough for Asuna to cut the garment off.

A small gasp left her lips once the coat was clear. “Emu…the back of his shirt…”

Emu moved to take a look, his eyes widening as he saw how much more blood was present on the back of Parad’s shirt. There was not a speck of blue left on the garment; blood covered every inch of it, most noticeable in the center, just beneath Parad’s shoulder blades. “We need to get this off…the main wound must be on his back.”

Asuna nodded, moving the cart of bandages closer, as she began to carefully cut through the shirt. She paused several times, having to work it loose where the blood was adhering the garment to Parad’s wound, but eventually she was able to pull the last of the shirt away, fully revealing the wound beneath.

“How terrible…what could have done this?” Asuna murmured, wetting a sponge and carefully dabbing around the main wound to clear away the clotting blood.

“This is the entrance wound… and the chest wound is the exit wound. It went clean through him,” Emu said, rattling off information as he assessed the damage. They laid Parad back down, settling him on his side, leaving both of his major wounds accessible. “If I had to guess…the Gashacon Sparrow could have done this.”

Asuna’s eyes widened slightly. “Then the one who attacked him was..!”

Emu nodded. “Dan Kuroto.”

“But why? They were working together, weren’t they?”

Emu shrugged. “They were, until recently. Don’t forget how Parad attacked him the other day. Something has definitely changed between them.”

They fell into silence, working slowly and thoroughly to clean Parad’s wounds as best they could, before covering them with gauze. 

Dropping the blood-soaked sponges and towels into a biohazard bag, Emu made a small sound of surprise. “Asuna-san, look!”

Following his gaze, Asuna looked over at Parad’s ruined clothing, which was slowly fizzling out of existence. Even the blood on the gloves they both wore had begun to disintegrate.

“Is that… normal?” Emu asked, incredulous.

“I’m not certain to be honest. I didn’t know a Bugster could be wounded this badly, or lose blood like a human. The most I’ve ever gotten are paper cuts, so I can’t use my own experience for this,” Asuna explained.

Emu glanced at the bandages covering the exit wound on Parad’s back, which was still slowly turning red. “I guess we’ll just have to keep taking this one step at a time then. At least the IV drip and the charger setup seem to be helping…or, at least they’re not hurting him. His vitals seem stronger.”

Emu’s gaze went back to the chair, where Parad’s clothing had all but disappeared, leaving behind the Bugster’s Dual Gashat, as well as… “Is that a handheld game system..?”

He took a step closer, leaning in to look at it without touching it. Yes, it looked very much like a handheld that Genm Corp had released about five years prior. The one he would have bought in a heartbeat before then, but he’d been afraid of losing his newfound resolve about his future career. But it didn’t look exactly like the model Emu remembered seeing for sale in stores. Indeed, the device had the Genm logo up the side; perhaps it was a prototype of the system, or an unreleased product. If that was the case, then it had likely been a gift from the Dan Kuroto. He felt a small twinge of jealousy, but at the same time, he doubted that he’d want to accept any gifts from the CEO of Genm Corp at this point. 

Working at the same time, they’d just about gotten both sides of the stab wound dressed when they were interrupted.

“I will hold onto this for safekeeping,” a voice announced from nearby, and Emu nearly tripped over his own feet as Hiiro suddenly appeared at his side, reaching out to take Parad’s Gashat.

“H-hey!” Emu protested lamely, but Hiiro had already turned away and was sweeping back out of the room, tucking the Gashat inside his coat as he went.

Asuna shook her head as she watched Hiiro leave the room, and Emu felt the same way, but he knew that Parad was the immediate concern. Hiiro would keep that Gashat safe. 

“We’ll worry about that later. I want to check his scalp for wounds. It looks like there’s blood drying in his hair,” Emu stated. 

Before Asuna could reply, her cell phone rang, and she hurriedly answered it, even as Emu began to gather up what he needed.

“Emu…the director needs me up in the hospital for a bit. Will you be able to handle things on your own?” Asuna asked, looking almost guilty. “I couldn’t exactly tell him no, since Parad isn’t a patient…”

“I’ll be fine, Asuna-san. Go on ahead,” Emu assured her, smiling brightly.

As Asuna went on her way, Emu retrieved everything he’d need, and placed it on the cart beside the gurney where it’d be within reach. First, he wet a washcloth in a basin of water, squeezing out a bit of the excess, before moving to squeeze a bit of the water into Parad’s hair. He’d need to loosen up the blood caked in Parad’s curls before he could properly examine the Bugster’s scalp, so he’d have to try to clean it as best he could.

He continued on in this way for some time; rinsing small areas of Parad’s hair, sponging away blood, before patting it gently with a clean towel. He looked better with each bit of progress made, as more and more blood was rinsed away.

Emu was so engrossed in the procedure, he missed when Parad’s fingers twitched, ever so slightly.


End file.
